Weekly Recap: Touching the Stars

For me it is a pretty full plate this January. I no longer work outside the home, so some of you may just roll your eyes with envy. Juggling family, writing, and other passions with an outside job is demanding, no question. Done that, been there before! I do have a part-time editing job, but it so part-time it hardly counts. 

Started my Master Gardener class yesterday and excited I can finally do this, as there was never enough time before. Homework, lectures, and online exams will keep me busy through mid-April and I am meeting a great group of like-minded gardeners. Still determined to submit my novel by the end of this month. Worked on it almost 17 hours last week toward that end. Later this month, I will be attending a regional SCBWI workshop (Spokane, WA) called "Building a Following: How to Grow Your Author Platform Before and After Publication." Working on one book review, but (darn) missed my 'read one book a week' goal last week, so need to think about that. All in all, it's lining up to be a month of learning. Hope your week is going well. Is it?

Below is a quote from a book called The Treasure Chest, a high school graduation gift to me from my parents many years ago. I cannot tell you how often I have read and enjoyed this collection of quotes and poetry over the years. I will read it my entire life. Today's quote about 'touching the stars' seemed so applicable to the goals I am seeking and the frustration I sometimes feel. I love how it ends. I could not help but think of blogger friends like you and others in my life :)

"You Can Touch Stars"

Stars have too long been symbols of the
unattainable. They should not be so. For
although our physical hands cannot reach
them, we can touch them in other ways

Let stars stand for those things which are
ideal and radiant in life; if we seek sincerely
and strive hard enough, it is not impossible
to reach them, even though the goals seem
distant at the onset.

And how often do we touch stars when we
find them close by in the shining lives of
great souls, in the sparkling universe of
humanity around us!

(Esther Baldwin York)